According to an AARP poll of voters over 50, Obama and Romney are tied 45-45% with the group. But Obama gets just a 42%-49% approval rating among them. What’s more, this group really dislikes Congress. The deliberative body gets just an 8% approval rating, with 81% disapproving. The group narrowly prefers Democrats to control Congress (43-39%). They “are as likely to say that their personal economic circumstances were negatively affected by political gridlock in Washington (78%) as by the economic downturn (77%).” They also “want the candidates to better explain their plans for Social Security and Medicare, which will help them determine their votes.”

And for anyone who thinks the Paul Ryan budget wouldn’t become an issue, these voters are strongly in favor of Social Security and Medicare: 91% believe “Social Security is critical to the economic security of seniors” and “the next president and Congress need to strengthen Social Security so that it is able to provide retirement security for future generations.” (That includes about three-quarters of Romney voters.) On Medicare: 95% say “Medicare is critical to maintaining the health of seniors” and 88% say “The next president and Congress need to strengthen Medicare so that it is able to provide health coverage in retirement for future generations.”

The poll was conducted by Hart Research and GS Strategy Group. (Disclosure: Hart Research is the Democratic half of the NBC-WSJ poll.)